Rockville Cemetery is a cemetery in Rockville, Maryland, United States. It is the oldest burial ground in the Rockville community. It sometimes is referred to as Rockville Union Cemetery, although that has never been its name.

Physical features

Rockville Cemetery is located on the eastern edge of RockvilleRockville Cemetery: Our History and Function Accessed March 12, 2023
/ref> at 1350 Baltimore Road, adjacent to the Rockville Civic Center. It occupies in two sections, an older, western or upper section of and a newer, eastern or lower section of almost . The western or upper section is an example of the "

rural cemetery A rural cemetery or garden cemetery is a style of cemetery that became popular in the United States and Europe in the mid-nineteenth century due to the overcrowding and health concerns of urban cemeteries. They were typically built one to five ...

" movement with a picturesque landscape, curving roads, monuments, and plantings, while the eastern or lower section is a lawn cemetery. The two sections are divided by both a stream and a dramatic change in elevation between the higher western and lower eastern sections.

History

The Anglican Prince George's

Parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

established a

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

in what is now the western or upper section of Rockville Cemetery in 1738, and by around 1740 a

graveyard A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

had been established as burials began on the chapel's grounds; the oldest surviving stone grave marker dates to 1752. Almost a century later, Christ Episcopal Church moved from the old chapel into the City of Rockville, but burials continued at the graveyard. Ownership of the cemetery changed in 1880, when five

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

denominations incorporated the Rockville Cemetery Association of Montgomery County and made the cemetery a community burial space open to all. By that time, the neglected cemetery had fallen into disrepair and become a veritable wilderness, but the new ownership revitalized interest in its care and maintenance during the 1880s. A women's group, the Rockville Union Cemetery Association, took responsibility for the management and maintenance of the cemetery and beautified the property. In 1889, a caretaker's cottage and outbuilding were constructed at the cemetery. Demand for space led to the expansion of Rockville Cemetery to include its lower, eastern section, which was laid out in 1936. The City of Rockville annexed the cemetery in 1984. Interest in maintenance of the cemetery waned again, and by the late 20th century it again had fallen into disrepair. Public outcry over its physical condition led to the incorporation in 2001 of the nonprofit Rockville Cemetery Association, Inc. The association reinvigorated efforts to maintain the property and improve its appearance, overseeing repairs to the 1889 caretaker's cottage and outbuilding, renovation of the cemetery's internal roads, drainage improvements, the repair of hundreds of damaged and fallen tombstones, and the installation of road signs to direct visitors to the graves of their loved ones and to those of notable people buried at the cemetery. The Rockville Cemetery Association's financial position improved significantly between 2014 and 2020 thanks to substantial growth in grave sales and burials. During these years, the Association continued to convert all of the cemetery's records to a digital format, standardized grave site codification, created high-quality section maps, expanded and enhanced the cemetery's website, refurbished and upgraded the caretaker's cottage and gave it a public water connection, completed the planting of more than 30 trees, and expanded the cemetery's program of community events.

Notable burials

More than 4,600 people are buried at Rockville Cemetery. Notable burials include: * Upton Beall (1770–1827), second

clerk of the court A court clerk (British English: clerk to the court or clerk of the court ; American English: clerk of the court or clerk of court ) is an officer of the court whose responsibilities include maintaining records of a court, administer oaths to witn ...

of Montgomery County * Richard Johns Bowie (1807–1881), U.S Congressman (1849–1853), chief judge of the

Maryland Court of Appeals The Supreme Court of Maryland is the highest court of the U.S. state of Maryland. Its name was changed on December 14, 2022, from the Maryland Court of Appeals, after a voter-approved change to the state constitution. The court, which is compose ...

(1861–1867) * Stephen Clusky Cromwell, Jr. (1925–2015), first president of the Rockville Cemetery Association (2001–2014) and descendant of Rebecca Viers * John G. England (1845–1913), mayor of Rockville (1894–1896)The Political Graveyard Montgomery County, Md. Accessed March 14, 2023
/ref> * John Trumbull Garvin (1892-1943), American diplomat * John Harding (1685–1752), whose tombstone is the oldest remaining stone marker in the cemetery *

Walter Johnson Walter Perry Johnson (November 6, 1887 – December 10, 1946), nicknamed "Barney" and "The Big Train", was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 21-year baseball career in Major League Baseball as a right-ha ...

(1887–1946), Hall-of-Fame

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for the Washington Senators, manager of the Senators and the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

,Walter Johnson: Baseball's Big Train
by Henry W. Thomas, Published by U of Nebraska Press, 1998, page 348. On Google Books and Montgomery County commissioner * William Pinckney Mason (1843–1922),

Confederate States Navy The Confederate States Navy (CSN) was the Navy, naval branch of the Confederate States Armed Forces, established by an act of the Confederate States Congress on February 21, 1861. It was responsible for Confederate naval operations during the Amer ...

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

Paul Peck Paul Peck (August 10, 1889 – September 12, 1912) was an early U.S. aviator who died in a plane crash. Before his death, Peck's nineteen year old wife Ruth died in the birth of a son. When Peck was killed, the boy was left with his grandparents. ...

(1889–1912), aviation pioneer * E. Barrett Prettyman (1891–1971), senior judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (1962–1971) *

E. Barrett Prettyman Jr. Elijah Barrett Prettyman Jr. (June 1, 1925 – November 4, 2016) was an American lawyer. Early life and education Prettyman was born in Washington, D.C. His father was United States federal judge E. Barrett Prettyman.''E. Barrett Prettyman Jr ...

(1925–2016), prominent

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, lawyer, son of E. Barrett Prettyman * Members of the Pumphrey family of carpenters and

undertaker A funeral director, also known as an undertaker (British English) or mortician (American English), is a professional involved in the business of funeral rites. These tasks often entail the embalming and burial or cremation of the dead, as ...

s * Edward Elisha Stonestreet (1830–1903), Rockville

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and town councilman * Rebecca Thomas Viers '' née'' Bialys (1833–1918), leader of the Rockville Union Cemetery Association The author

F. Scott Fitzgerald Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age—a term he popularize ...

was buried in Rockville Cemetery upon his death in 1940, as was his wife

Zelda Fitzgerald Zelda Fitzgerald (; July 24, 1900 – March 10, 1948) was an American novelist, painter, dancer, and socialite. Born in Montgomery, Alabama, she was noted for her beauty and high spirits, and was dubbed by her husband F. Scott Fitzgerald ...

, who died in 1948. Their remains were moved to Saint Mary's Cemetery, also in Rockville, in 1975.

References

External links

Rockville CemeteryRockville Cemetery (pdf)Find a Grave
* ttp://peerlessrockville.org/peerless_places/peerless_places_rockville_cemetery_1.htm Brief history by Peerless Rockville {{coord, 39, 5, 3, N, 77, 7, 32, W, display=title 1740 establishments in Maryland Cemeteries in Maryland Union Cemetery Religion in Rockville, Maryland Cemeteries established in the 18th century